Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I called on getting the master bathroom  mirrors replaced.  The boneheaded builder took the mirrors all the way down to the granite.  No backsplash.... Who does that??? Well are you sitting down $1750 to do the two mirrors.  There are four wholes, but the worst part is that the plumbing has to be removed and replaced.  So it was not about the mirrors, it was the labor.  Either way -NO way that was happening.

But I needed to cover this.

Water has gotten up under the mirror along the sink.  It was like this when we bought the house but I am sick of it.  I decided I was going to frame the mirrors.

Okay trim is cheaper when you "dress" it up yourself. This basic trim was $1.47 a foot at my local trim shop.

The 1" rope trim however is $2.09 a foot.  So for $3.60 I get a nice custom look, the ornate trim started at $6 per foot.

Love gorilla glue, it really is the best. I taped and used some wood weights. 

I painted the trim before I hung it.  Way Way easier.

Cut and I used liquid nails to permanently glue the wood  in place.  I used blue tape to hold the wood until the glue set up.

All done.

Two mirrors trimmed out for a total of $190.  There is a third mirror that I am going to do to match and that will only take $62 to do.  I really really like them.  Think outside the box when fixing a cosmetic problem.

Happy Trimming.

The Blind FYI

If you ever decide to put custom wood blinds in your home.  Be sure that you include extra louvers.  ALWAYS... if they are the large 1.5 inch blinds that is only one extra per inch.  Meaning that if you are doing this yourself not having them installed add at least one inch to the window length.  I would add two, giving me two extras per window.  If you are having them installed by a company. (crazy I know but that is actually cheaper in Houston than doing it yourself)  Have them give you at least two extra per window.  WHY?? Well here is why..  

 I went to raise the blinds and the cords were behind this louver, snapped it fast.

Sorry I didn't think about blogging this until it was done.  So no broken blind photo.  But right here is where it happened.

The only way to tell which one it was .. is it is the one with no dust.. :-)  I pulled the blind down and did the repair on the floor.  I did not cut the bottom rope, I took a pair of tweezers and pulled the knot from the plastic piece and unknotted it.  I did not want to shorten these or the lifting cord.

Here is how to fix the problem.  FIRST take the blind down.  Several reasons, but most important is that you can loose the cords up into the feeding mechanism, if that happens you are done.  I have tried with no avail to re-feed cord through that maze of craziness, it is next to impossible.   You may need help getting them down, these bad boys weigh a TON.  At the bottom of each blind is a cap along each raising rope/cord line.  It is a simple pop those  little plastic caps off(I used a flat head screw driver and gentle shoved it against the plastic between the wood, making sure to not damage either item), once the cap is off pull the line threw the blinds to the louver just above the broken one.  Pull the broken louver out from the side, pull one of the extras from the bottom.  Slip it in place just above the thin guide lines (the louvers rest on those).  Now feed the lines one at a time back threw the louvers, do not get them wrapped around the guide lines.  This does take a moment to do.  When you get to the bottom replace the plastic caps and you are done. Ta dah.. all fixed and good as new.  Well maybe if they were dust free.  Totally saved me $350 bucks.

Happy blind recovery.

Lobster Bisque

Okay, so Gary asked for Lobster Bisque for his birthday.  I am a just a tad bit late.  A couple of weeks.  I have never attempted lobster bisque before.  I did TONS of research.  I love lobster bisque but I don't like lobster meat.  I dig out the meat and give it to Gary when we go out.  At $25 a bowl we don't do that much.  I find that I over eat the soup and bread - then I am starving before bedtime.  So what did I have to lose.  I made the decision that I did NOT want to mess with live lobster.  For several reasons, one I don't have a large enough pan, and probably the most important reason I didn't want to listen to them scream while I cooked them alive.  So I purchased three whole cooked lobsters.  They were $6 each precooked.

I then removed all the meat, you only get about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of meat from each lobster.  You really don't get much.

I then decided I was going to make as much broth as I could get.  So I simmered down the shells for stock.  I filled the stock pot with all the shells and covered them with water.  I simmered this for about two hours.

I did tons of research and combined recipes. Here is what I settled on.

1/2 stick of real butter
3 cups of chopped carrots
3 cups of chopped celery

saute them on med heat until almost golden brown. not cooked you are going after flavor here.
While these were cooking I fished the shells from my lobster broth.  I strained it several times to make sure I had no little shells at all.  The veggies don't have to be pretty you are going to blend these.

when they are close to done add
3 cups of chopped onions cook until onions are brown on the edges
last add the garlic.. this cooks fast watch it
8 cloves of fresh smashed garlic (used my garlic press)

Now in the stock pot place
Golden brown veggies
1  6oz can of tomato paste
3 cups of the lobster broth
2 dried bay leaves
3 large fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Simmer until veggies are cooked about 15-20 mins, don't boil just a steady simmer. While that is going make your roux. This smells AMAZING...

In the saute pan melt the other 1/2 stick of butter
 a heavy 1/2 cup of flour almost 3/4 cup (heaping 1/2)
make a light to medium brown roux
then add
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 of  .0141 oz package of saffron
Honestly I would leave this out the next time or just add a pinch this is a very strong flavor.

Lobster stock...  I had 12 cups of lobster broth so I figured my spices and veggies off that.

I know nothing about these types of booze so I just grabbed mid grade. 

When your veggies are done remove them from the stock pan, put them in a bowl.  Dig out the bay leaves. I don't have a fancy food press/grinder. So I just ran them threw the blender.  I could not find my immersion stick blender or I would have used that.  Add the veggie mix, cream roux, and all the lobster stock back into the stock pot.  Heat to a simmer.  Take about 10 minutes.  This is your bisque.

Now I put the lobster meat in a small pan and spooned enough bisque over the meat to make four bowls.  I heated this until the meat was hot, just took minutes.  I added shrimp to the rest.  I would try crab meat the next time.  VERY good.. But tons of work.. Just a special occasion thing for me.

Happy cooking.

Fixed it..

Gary decided to paint the front side walk at the lake house.  It turned out to be a very orange color.  It was terrible.  I don't know if it shows how orange it really looked in this photo.  BUT it is very orange.

I got another gallon of the SAME concrete paint just a very different color from Home Depot.  I took a broom/brush and dipped the brush straight in the gallon of paint and swirled the paint onto the side walk making sure that it pooled in the cracks and low spots.  I wanted an age/dirty/old look.  Here it is wet.

It took an entire gallon of paint to paint the side walk.  This is an oil based paint, I just tossed the brush I was using.  $7 bucks Home Depot, I found it in the broom section.  You will need a stiff brush when working with concrete.  Don't use expensive brushes the concrete eats the bristles.

Can you see the dog paws?

Here they are on the porch.. I am going to paint this making it look like a rug.  I wasn't going to do it until the spring.  But.. Now I will when it cools off.  Since I want to stencil it and I don't want to melt.

Gotta love dogs.  And all three of them did it.. You can just see the "big" dog prints.. The littles are harder to see, in size and because they weight so much less that the print is very very light.

Done. 

Here it is dry.  I really do like the way it turned out.  And honestly the orange worked in my favor.  I need to take a new front photo.

When it doubt just repaint.  

Happy fixing.

Kiss me

I love my Silhouette machine.. I have been playing with it for days now.  Things I have learned.

1. You can totally use contact paper.  $8 bucks for a roll of black 18 inches wide by 24 feet.

2 You can use blue painters tape to transfer all the vinyl, the heavy stuff and the contact paper.

3. You can use the clear contact paper to transfer the colored contact paper when you want to transfer a stencil.

4 Cutting stencils is a pain in &*%$#.  DO a test cut to see if it will cut.  Getting the stencil off the cutting mat will make you crazy.

5 Write down the information when you find the cuts you like.  Example when cutting contact paper you have to use the cutting mat. 

6.  You can use the other brand cutting mat.  I could only get the 12x24 cutting mat in the other brand.  It totally worked.

Today I'll finished this.  It is not completely dry.  I will need to flip it over to mount the hanging brackets on the back.  One on each end will get it level when mounting it to the wall.

It could have used a second coat.  The glue shows up.  I painted around the letters with watered down glue.  I won't buy decoupage glue.  It is expensive for what I want to do.

By painting the letters first you get clean lines.

Here is what I used.  Confession I didn't realize that it was not acrylic until I was home and then I just wanted to finish it.  I was not going back to home depot, so this is an oil based paint.  I just tossed the foam roller.

$8 bucks and it did cover in one coat, as long as you don't get picky.   It would have been really nice with a second coat, it would have covered the glue lines.

I found this in the garage.  It was a piece of window seal.  It is paint grade.  

See the finger joints.

I knew it would work for what I wanted to do.  But as you can see it was very noticeable stained with the black lettering.

I had to cut each word separately using my large mat.  I cut the vinyl down into 7 x 18, which was just measuring out 7 inches and using my wheel to cut.  The contact paper is 18 inches wide.  I drew a pencil line across the entire board to use as my guide line.  You can't see it in the finished product, unless you look for it. 

I ordered some more vinyl online, I will let you know how that turns out.

Happy Cutting...

Craft day

I finished my other granddaughter's name today.

I used contact paper to make the letters.  It is $6 a roll 18 inches wide by 24 feet long.  Instead of 12" by 5' for $12.  It is way way thinner and you have to cut using the mat.  And set the cutter sittings to 6 deep and 7 speed on the vinyl setting.

It also does not stick as well so I glued over the top.  Looks great.

I had two more boards so I took four different colors of blue and spread them around.

I took a sponge painter, and drug it from one side to the other.

It gives a great look.

I love this saying.. I am however not sure if I think it is large enough.

I didn't "love" this so I painted over the letters.

It as too white so I glazed over this to tone it down. Pulled the letters.

I like this one much better.

Another one... Different colors.

I really like the way this one turned out.

I love how this one turned out.

What I learned.  You can totally use the contact paper.  But you will have to put a sealer over the top.  It really isn't as sticky as the vinyl.    And you have to use the cutting mat.  I am going to get the larger one tomorrow.

Happy sign making.

Catch up..

Okay I couldn't take the first time how uneven it was.  I just picked the love off and I made it bigger.  The second time I made even more pencil lines.  Still very hard to see.  But this time I have the same amount of space.  I can live with this.  Going to the lake house this weekend.

The painters tape works like a gem. And it is way way cheaper than the transfer tape.

I had an idea to do baby names for the girls.  I decoupaged craft paper over wood.

The cutter does have trouble on little letters and lots of detail to close together.  But I got it to work.

You have to be very careful when removing the unwanted vinyl.

I cut it free several times.  Do NOT let it fall back on the letters.

I refused to buy the kit.  I had an old rubber scrapper that had a broken handle.  The x acto knife was just a cheap Walmart one.  The other two tools came from the dollar store they are "teeth" cleaning tools.  They work great.  My kit cost me less than 10 bucks.

I am having so much fun with the cutter.  LOVE it.

Happy cutting.